Trash compactor and bag system

ABSTRACT

A trash compactor includes a container and a ram for compacting waste materials deposited therein, and a reusable liner positioned within the container receives the waste material, and facilitates removal of the waste material after compaction thereof. The liner has interfitting sections each with upstanding sidewalls and a bottom wall with one sidewall of each of the sections being shortened to permit their ready assembly and disassembly. A tubular bag of seamless plastic sheet material having one sealed end is placed in the liner, and a cuff portion folds over the upper end of the liner and the container. Holes in the cuff portion engage buttons on the exterior of the container. The buttons have enlarged heads formed as sections of a sphere. When a bag of compacted trash is removed, the material drops to the sealed end of the bag and the cuff portion can close the open end of the bag. The holes may then provide a means for engaging a tie to close the bag.

United States Patent [191 Grunewald [11] 3,826,189 [4 1 July 30, 1974 TRASH COMPACTOR AND BAG SYSTEM Ernst Grunewald, Troy, Ohio The Hobart Manufacturing Company, Troy, Ohio Filed: July 28, 1972 App]. No: 276,241

Inventor:

Assignee:

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,756,144 9/1973 Engcbretsen lO0/229 A Primary Examiner-Billy .l. Wilhite Attorney, Agent, or FirmBiebel, French & Bugg [57] ABSTRACT A trash compactor includes a container and a ram for compacting waste materials deposited therein, and a reusable liner positioned within the container receives the waste material, and facilitates removal of the waste material after compaction thereof. The liner has interfitting sections each with upstanding sidewalls and a bottom wall with one sidewall of each of the sections being shortened to permit their ready assembly and disassembly. A tubular bag of seamless plastic sheet material having one sealed end is placed in the liner, and a cuff portion folds over the upper end of the liner and the container. Holes in the cuff portion engage buttons on the exterior of the container. The buttons have enlarged heads formed as sections of a sphere. When a bag of compacted trash is removed, the material drops to the sealed end of the bag and the cuff portion can close the open end of the bag. The holes may then provide a means for engaging a tie to close the bag.

3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJULBOIHH SHEET 10F 2 FIG-1 FIG-4 PAIENTEU xmaomn SHEET 2 [IF 2 TRASH COMPACTOR AND BAG SYSTEM CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is related to copending applications Ser. No. 184,038, filed Sept. 27, 1971, and Ser. No. 214,804, filed Jan. 3, 1972, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,756,144, both assigned to the assignee of this applica- BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A number of domestic trash compactor units utilize disposable bags which are placed within the compactor to receive the refuse and into which the material is compacted. Heretofore such bags have been generally of a special, laminated construction which incorporates layers for strength and other layers for moisture proofing. These bags are relatively expensive and they represent a continuing considerable expense for the compactor user, but lighter weight bags have not been particularly successful in these units because such bags tend to tear and tend to be drawn into the container during compaction, thus become useless and only adding to the difficulty of removing the compacted trash.

Other units of this type utilize a one-piece, more or less self-supporting container, into which the waste material is deposited directly and subsequently compacted. With this type of container problems arise in removing the compacted material from the container. While tapering the container side walls may provide some alleviation of this problem, it will be seen that this results in a loss of container volume and of course, there may still be difficulty in removing the compacted materials particularly if it is wet or sticky. Furthermore, wet or sticky materials tend to leave soil on the container, causing odor and sanitation problems which require that the container be washed frequently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a compactor which utilizes a special disposable bag, preferably supported within a multi-piece composite liner of a substantially rigid, self-supporting material, which in turn is supported in and removable from the trash receiving container of the machine. The bag is preferably constructed as a seamless tubular member having one sealed end and a cuff portion for folding over the upper end of the container.

Holes in the cuff portion are positioned to engage over special button retainers which hold the bag against friction forces tending to draw it into the container during compacting operations. The bunched lower end of the bag avoids stress on the sealed end during compaction, and also leaves room for compacted trash to settle into the sealed bag end as the bag is removed, thus leaving an excess of material at the cuff portion for tieing the open upper end of the bag.

Because the liner is formed as two, substantially rigid sections, when it is used the compacted material is readily removed by separating the two liner sections to free the bag.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive bag particularly adaptable for use in trash compacting machines; to provide for such bag special button retainers with enlarged heads formed as sections of a sphere, which will resist the friction of compacting forces tending to draw the bag into the machines container; to provide a seamless tubular bag with a sealed folded end and a cuff portion at'its open end including holes dimensioned for a force fit over the button heads at the upper exterior of the container.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view with the side cover removed, showing the container in its withdrawn position in dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is an exploded side view with the container retracted and the liner and bag above it;

FIG. 3 is a view of the drawer partially in section showing details of the bag assembled in the container;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a typical compactor in which the bag of the present invention finds utility includes an upstanding cabinet 11 housing a trash container or receptacle 12 formed in a drawer structure 13 slidable on rails 14 between an accessible, non-compacting position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1 and a compacting position shown in full lines. Housing 11 also encloses a ram 16 carrying a motor 18 and driving a chain 20. Chain 20 wraps three, triangularly disposed drive nuts 22 (only two of which are shown in FIG. 1) which engage stationary screw-threaded rods 24. The housing 11 is also provided with an upper door 26, pivotally mounted to move between the positions shown in FIG. 1. Received within the receptacle or drawer 12 there may be a liner 32 (FIG. 2) which includes a pair of cooperating sections 34 and 36 (FIG. 6), each formed of a substantially rigid material such as polyethylene. Section 34 includes a bottom 38, upstanding sidewalls 40, and end walls 42 and 44. Walls 40 and 42 are of substantially the same height as the walls of the receptacle 12, but upstanding wall 44 is appreciably shorter than the remaining walls as shown.

Section 36 also has a bottom 38a and includes upstanding sidewalls 40a and end walls 42a and 44a. Walls 40a and 42a are substantially the same height as that of the container 12, and wall 44a is appreciably shorter, approximately the same height as the wall 44. The bottom of section 36 is somewhat smaller than section 34, to nest therein and cooperatively to define a complete liner assembly.

It will also be noted that the liner is provided with handles 56 and 58 formed in the sections 34 and 36, respectively. Additionally, the drawer or sliding receptacle 12 is provided with a notch 60 in each of its upper edges of its side walls, only one of which is shown in FIG. 1, with the handles 56 and 58 aligned with and accessible through notches 60. Finally, it will be noted that each of the sections is provided with ribs 62 integrally formed on the exterior surfaces of the liner sections and extending from the tops thereof to points spaced from the bottom walls thereof.

A disposable tubular bag, made of seamless sheet material, is preferably used to receive the trash to be compacted..FIG. 7 is a perspective view of such a bag 65, which can be constructed from a seamless tube of plastic sheet material, such as polyethylene. The bag is shown in FIG. 7 in a fully erected form, with the folded lower end of the bag having a sealed seam 66, and also having an upper cuff portion 68 with a number of appropriately placed holes 70 which serve to retain the bag in position within the compactor, as presently described. In a successfully used embodiment of the invention, bags were formed of seamless polyethylene having a thickness of from 4 to 6 mils, by forming a tube of material to produce in-folds at each side of the tube, producing a flattened sheet of four thicknesses at the sides and two thicknesses in the center.

Holes 70 are formed through the material at the time the bags are formed by conventional methods and machinery. In order to form the holes 70 sufficiently spaced apart in the wider sides of the bag, as shown in FIG. 7, the perforations are made at a location where four thicknesses of the folded tubular material are presented. This merely causes extra holes in the narrower walls of the bag, as shown in FIG. 7, but these are of no particular need in the present invention.

In a typical embodiment the receptacle is approximately 18 inches deep, and the liner members will likewise be of about the same depth in those instances where the separable liner is used. The bags may be formed considerably longer, for example, in the order of 30 to 36 inches in length, in the folded form. When the bag is spread to the position shown in FIG. 7, the heat sealed bottom will shorten somewhat, but there is sufficient slack due to excess material that the bag material is bunched in the bottom of the receptable (or liner) as shown in FIG. 3. This avoids placing any strain upon the heat sealed end of the bag during the compacting operations. The upper cuff portion 68 of the bag is sufficiently long to fold over the upper end of the receptacle, bringing the holes 70 into alignment with special retainer buttons on the upper exterior side walls of the receptacle 12. These are in the form of plastic retainer buttons 80, one of which is shown in detail in FIG. 4. The head 81 of the button is formed as a section of a sphere, somewhat larger than shank 82, which is a shortened cylinder suitably fastened to the wall of the receptacle. This may be done, for example, by a bolt (not shown) extending through the receptacle wall into the shank 82. The bag material is somewhat flexible and stretchable, and the diameter of head 81 of the retainer buttons is slightly greater than the size of holes 70, hence the bag material is forced over the head and this assures that the bag does not accidentally pull off the buttons especially when material is being compacted.

The front of the drawer 13 includes a compartment formed with sidewalls 84, and each of these has an appropriate relief 85 allowing the cuff portion of the bag to fit over the front upper end of the receptacle 12. This compartment provides a convenient storage place for a supply of the disposable bags 65, which may, for example, be provided either in rolls or preferably in fan folded packets which can be kept in the compartment space. The cover 87 for this compartment is hinged to the upper front edge of the drawer structure, at 88, and in its lower position this cover also functions as a chute having a lower edge which extends down past the upper edge of receptacle 112. The region'inside the upper door 26 is separated from the ram structure and its drive mechanism by a wall 90, thus providing an area within the front upper portion of the compactor where small or middle size trash articles can be placed without the necessity of pulling the main drawer 13 to its open position each time. When the drawer structure 13 is open, these articles will pass down the cover 87 into the bag within the receptacle. At the same time, the wall 90 prevents any access to the mechanism through the upper door 26, hence there is no danger in placing small articles in this area of the machine, even while it is operating. The main drawer structure, including the receptacle 12 is however provided with suitable safety interlocks and a positive retaining latch (not shown) to assure that the compacting ram can function only when the drawer structure and receptacle is in the compacting position shown in FIG. 1. Details of these arrangements are not illustrated nor described since they do not form a part of the present invention.

Where the separable multi-piece liner is used, once the bag 65 is sufficiently filled with compacted material, it may be detached from the retainer buttons, and the liner with the loaded bag inside can readily be lifted from the receptacle 12, by withdrawing the liner upwardly essentially to the position shown in FIG; 2. The sections of the liner can then be separated, at least partially, as shown in FIG. 6 to permit easy removal of the bag. The extending cuff portion 68 provides a convenient means for grasping the upper end of the bag, and as the loaded bag is withdrawn, the compacted material will tend to drop into the slack portion of the sealed lower end of the bag, leaving sufficient material at the top of the bag to be folded and tied or otherwise secured in a sealed condition which minimizes odors from material in the bag and assures that any liquids contained therein will be properly retained. As previously mentioned, use of the separable liner member is optional, and it will be apparent from the description and drawings that the bag 65 can be placed directly within the receptacle 12 and secured to the special retainer buttons, in which case the loaded bags will merely be withdrawn upward directly from the receptacle when they are sufficiently full.

It has been found during repeated use of these bags together with the special retainer button members 80, that the bag is secured to the upper end of the receptacle in such a way that frictional forces acting against the walls of the bag within the receptacle during compacting, tending to draw the bag material down into the receptacle, are fully resisted by the retaining arrangement, there is little or no tearing of the bag material around the holes 70, and the bags have consistently re mained properly attached to the upper end of the receptacle during use. This arrangement has been tested through thousands of compacting cycles, and over a thousand of the bags have been successfully loaded with compacted trash in accordance with this disclosure, with practically no failures of the bag retaining arrangement.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: 1. For use in a trash compactor having a housing, a ram mounted in said housing and including a reciprocating drive therefor, and a container having rigid walls positionable in said housing beneath said ram to receive items of trash for compaction in said container by movement of the ram into said container, a disposable trash receiving bag fittable within said container and including an upper cuff portion of sufficient length and width to be reverse folded around the upper edge of said container, said bag having holes in said cuff portion;

the improvement comprising buttons on said container forcibly engageable through said holes to hold the bag in position on said container against forces tending to draw said cuff portion into the container as trash is compacted within the bag,

said buttons having a head portion receivable through said holes and a shank portion around which the cuff portion is engaged.

2. In a trash compactor having a housing, a ram mounted in said housing and including a reciprocating drive therefor, an access door opening to the interior of the housing in the region beneath said ram, an open top container having rigid walls positionable in said housing beneath said ram to receive and restrain items of trash for compaction in said container by movement of the ram into said container, a thin flexible trash receiving bag fittable within said container and including an upper cuff portion of sufficient length and width to be reverse folded around the top edge of said container, said bag having holes in said cuff portion engaging to hold the bag in position on said container;

the improvement comprising retainer projections extending from the exterior of said container near the top thereof, said projections having an enlarged head portion dimensioned to fit tightly through said holes in said bag cuff portion.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said projections comprising a shank portion attached to said container and having a cross-sectional dimension less than the size of said holes, and said head portion being on the end of said shank portion and shaped as a partial sphere, the maximum diameter of said head portion being slightly greater than the size of said holes. 

1. For use in a trash compactor having a housing, a ram mounted in said housing and including a reciprocating drive therefor, and a container having rigid walls positionable in said housing beneath said ram to receive items of trash for compaction in said container by movement of the ram into said container, a disposable trash receiving bag fittable within said container and including an upper cuff portion of sufficient length and width to be reverse folded around the upper edge of said container, said bag having holes in said cuff portion; the improvement comprising buttons on said container forcibly engageable through said holes to hold the bag in position on said container against forces tending to draw said cuff portion into the container as trash is compacted within the bag, said buttons having a head portion receivable through said holes and a shAnk portion around which the cuff portion is engaged.
 2. In a trash compactor having a housing, a ram mounted in said housing and including a reciprocating drive therefor, an access door opening to the interior of the housing in the region beneath said ram, an open top container having rigid walls positionable in said housing beneath said ram to receive and restrain items of trash for compaction in said container by movement of the ram into said container, a thin flexible trash receiving bag fittable within said container and including an upper cuff portion of sufficient length and width to be reverse folded around the top edge of said container, said bag having holes in said cuff portion engaging to hold the bag in position on said container; the improvement comprising retainer projections extending from the exterior of said container near the top thereof, said projections having an enlarged head portion dimensioned to fit tightly through said holes in said bag cuff portion.
 3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said projections comprising a shank portion attached to said container and having a cross-sectional dimension less than the size of said holes, and said head portion being on the end of said shank portion and shaped as a partial sphere, the maximum diameter of said head portion being slightly greater than the size of said holes. 